With Spring trying to make it’s appearance, it’s time to start thinking about warm weather cocktails. My favourite is the margarita and I’ve perfected it to my taste. I don’t like my drinks to be overly sweet and margaritas can quickly become sugar bombs. One HOT summer a few years back I took it upon myself to perfect my margarita recipe and now I’m going to share it with you.

Key Ingredients

• Good Tequila - I like Casa Amigos, but choose a tequila you would drink on it’s own. Don’t waste your time with cheap tequila on this one, it’s the star of the drink.

• Cointreau - Essential to balance out the tequila, I prefer this over triple sec, which is a common liquor in margaritas. You could also use Grand Marnier.

• Lemon - I prefer lemon over lime in this recipe. I’ve tried it both ways and lemon is smoother and blends with the flavors better.

• Salt - Use to salt the rim of your glass, but I also put a dash in the shaker when I’m mixing it.

• Optional: Honey - I use this to sweeten the cocktail ever so slightly. You could make a simple syrup with honey and water, or just heat it up a bit in the microwave so it’s runny.

Easy Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Fill a shaker with ice.

2. Combine tequila, Cointreau, lemon, salt, and honey if using in the shaker with ice.

3. Close shaker and shake contents 30 times.

4. Run a lemon around the edge of your glass and dip in salt.

5. Strain shaken margarita into salted glass.

6. Garnish with lemon and enjoy!